Taxonomic study of endophytic species of Alternaria from Prunus trees in Urmia and Miandoab in W Azarbaijan province (NW Iran)

During the study on endophytic fungi of stone fruits including apricot, peach and nectarine in W Azarbaijan (NW Iran), a large number of isolates with Alternaria characteristics were isolated from different parts of these plants and studied taxonomically. Isolation was made based on endophytic fungal isolation method and following surface sterilization procedure. From 100 different plant samples, 102 isolates with Alternaria characteristics were obtained. Based on morphological characteristics, 10 species viz. Alternaria alternata, A. arborescens, A. atra, A. consortialis, A. destruens, A. dumosa, A. infectoria, A. japonica, A. pseudorostrata, and A. tenuissima were identified. Alternaria tenuissima, A. alternata and A. arborescens with 30, 25 and 16 isolate had the highest frequency respectively. All the identified species were isolated for the first time as endophytic fungi from apricot, peach and nectarine worldwide. Alternaria consortialis and A. pseudorostrata are new to mycoflora of Iran.